Rise of The Fallen (unedited Version) (COMPLETED)

Chapter 14

-kora- 

Opening my eyes I sat up and immediately groaned as the room started spinning and I became light headed. My stomach twisted in knots and I clammored to my feet using the cave wall for support as I went to the bowl filled with rain water in the back. 

 When I finally made it over I scooped some of the water with my hand and drank it. But it did nothing to appease my stomach or symptoms. 

My hand was shaking and I silently cursed to myself. I felt weak. No, I was weak. I was fatigued and practically starving. After being chased down last night I was too paranoid to sleep. 

I had stayed up all night clutching my makeshift bone knife in my hand half expecting that native who chased me all the way to the river to just suddenly walk through the cave's opening. 

I knew I stood no chance fighting him with the flimsy brittle weapon, especially considering the state I was in but fuck if I wasnt gonna go down without a fight. 

That chase used up the last bit of energy I had and my hunt was completely ruined, meaning I lost the much needed food and furs that I spent all week prepping for. 

Sighing, I sat down by my fire and removed some of the charcoal from the pit with a stick to cool down. I was actually extremely lucky with the way things turned out last night. I may not have gotten the food but I did escape with my life, unharmed.

Had that native caught me or decided to shoot me with his bow and arrows, I'd be a corpse right about now, rotting on the forest floor for all the crazy alien creatures to snack on… I scoffed at the idea.

 using the burnt tip of the stick I ended up drawing a stick figure of the native, with horns and a long squiggly tail, on the wall. While I waited for the charcoal to cool off. I gave him sharp teeth, a bow and some arrows. I drew myself lying beside him dead on the ground with crossed out eyes and an arrow through my body. I even used some red berries to mimic blood and smeared it on the picture. 

Leaning back I looked at my artwork, unimpressed. It honestly looked like something a morbid eight year old would draw. Uhg. Very mature kora.

Going back over to the charcoal I had separated from the fire I tested to make sure they were cooled and threw them into my mortar and pestle to grind them into a thin dusty powder. 

After my encounter with one of the bounty hunters weeks ago I learned pretty quickly that if I wanted to survive I needed to find a way to blend into my environment. It's hard to evade predators and hunt or scavenge when you stick out like a sore thumb in the middle of the forest.

At first I had been covering myself with mud to try and blend in but unfortunately that idea didn't last long. It dried too quickly and cracked, usually falling off my skin and leaving noticeable patches all over. That idea only lasted about three days before I gave up on it and came up with a better one. 

Charcoal. 

If ground into a fine powder and mixed with a little bit of water it is a great cover for my skin that helps me blend in at night. I've managed to hide in plain sight from a number of creatures by using it. Who would've thought such a simple thing could be such a lifesaver? 

After a good hour of pulverizing the charcoal into power I had a decent amount to cover up with for the next two days. Now I can focus on the real problem at hand.

Food.

I've lost my chance to get proper food when that native chased me off, all the fruits in the area I've already used up and the most I've been able to catch protein-wise has been the tree lizards. Every time I manage to kill one I also get attacked and bitten twenty times. It's like Literally kicking a hornet's nest.